Not a Normal Day
by Lumiellie
Summary: What happens when a Hogwarts student dies in thr middle of the year? This story explores Tonk's emotions as she grieves for a girl she barely got to know.


The day started off like any other; Tonks woke up before any of the other Hufflepuff seventh years and she showered. You had to get up early in order to have a chance to shower. Then she got dressed and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast, assured that it was just going to be another day.

She was wrong.

The first half of it started like any other day. Potions was her first class where Snape drawled on and on about a potion that would make the drinker less clumsy. He made a snarky comment on how it would help some people more than others. This caused the metamorphmagus to wonder how she even made it into NEWT level potions; her clumsiness was no secret.

Then it was Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall seemed different. The woman wasn't her normal stern self. Tonks decided that this was because it was almost the weekend and that the week had been unusually exhausting.

After Transfiguration, it was lunch. As Tonks made her way to the Great Hall, she noticed an abundance of Gryffindors with tear-streaked faces and puffy eyes. This wasn't normal; something bad had to have happened.

And as Tonks sat at her usual spot at the Hufflepuff table, she noticed Professor Dumbledore stand up at his podium and wait for the majority of the people to gather in and begin their lunches. His eyes had lost their usual twinkle. He cast an amplifying charm on his voice and he said, "Attention." He paused. "I regretfully must inform you that we had one of our fifth year Gryffindors, Chelsea Jones, pass away in her sleep last night." He blotted his eyes with a tissue.

"There will be a memorial set up in the library and there are many grief counsellors set up at the Hospital Wing. Classes will be cancelled for the rest of the week to give you all a chance to grieve during this difficult time."

Normally, if classes were cancelled, there was a unanimous cheer that spread throughout the room. However, everyone stayed silent, looking around at one another. People around her were in various stages of shock with some people crying and others with their mouths agape.

Tonks realized that everything had fallen into place as she poked her mashed potatoes. Suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore. That Chelsea? The one that I met in the bathrooms last year? she thought.

And then the memory came crashing back to her. _Tonks had left Charms in the middle of class to fill up her water bottle. On the way there, she heard crying in the bathroom. Cautiously, she entered, her wand out, prepared to fight anything that came her way._

_There was a tall girl sitting in the corner with tears flowing down her face. "Are you okay? What's your name?" Tonks asked._

_The girl shook her head. "Chelsea Jones."_

_"My name is Tonks," Tonks introduced herself, refusing to have this girl call her by her first name. "Can you tell me what happened?"_

_Chelsea nodded. "I was in potions when I knocked over a bunch of cauldrons and broke them. Professor Snape got so mad and he took away a hundred house points from me. I can't help that I'm clumsy. Now I have detention with him for two weeks."_

_"I understand how that feels. Back in my second year, I accidentally knocked over a whole jar of flobberworm juice. The stench was so putrid that I vomited all over the place. Snape was so angry. I had to juice flobberworms for a month."_

_This elicited a giggle out of Chelsea. "Snape is just a terrible teacher," Tonks added. "He shouldn't be around kids because we clearly anger him."_

_"I agree," Chelsea said. "And he dislikes Gryffindors for no reason, other than the fact that he's the head of Slytherin."_

_"Anyways, it's about time I headed back to class," Tonks said, leaving and bumping into a door on the way out._

It took Tonks a minute, but she realized why Snape had brought up the clumsiness potion; he still held that grudge with Chelsea. Tonks scoffed and finished her lunch, unable to eat any more food.

And as she headed back, the reality of the situation hit Tonks hard. She would no longer pass Chelsea in the halls and smile at her. No longer would the metamorphmagus be able to compare her clumsiness with anyone else.

Tonks didn't think that her situation was that bad. Sure, she may have talked to Chelsea a few times, but it wasn't like she had lost a friend. At most, Chelsea had been an acquaintance, the two of them weren't close.

When Tonks reached the Hufflepuff common room, she was surprised to see that no one was there yet. She wondered what would have happened if she had been closer to Chelsea.

And, silently, she shed a single tear.

Hope you enjoyed!

Word count: 819

Prompt: [Character] Nymphadora Tonks

Story type: Drabble

House: Gryffindor

Position: Year 7 Stand-in


End file.
